As a longtime Windows user who has owned, built and used hardware with pretty much every version of Windows OS (starting from 2.1 I think), one of the most impressive features of the Mac for me is the Migration Assistant. The first night I had it, I started up the new Mac Pro, connected my MacBook over Firewire and when the assistant was done; I sat down at the Mac Pro with every application, preference and desktop tweak from my MacBook fully installed and was ready to get to work. (OK, I did have to reauthorize two applications, but all my settings were migrated for those as well).
I have never moved from one PC to another without at least a week of pure hassle—hunting for key codes, reinstalling applications (even if restored from backup), reinstalling preferences, figuring out how to get Outlook to find and use old mail files, ad infinitum. In fact, my Windows laptop at work suffered a hard drive crash right around the same time I was installing my new Mac – some dark cloud of technology karma was hanging over my head there for a few weeks – and it took 3 days to recover even with a current backup. I’m still missing a few apps for which I need to hunt down the old versions before upgrading again. Not just a time sink, but a time sink with a genuine soul drain at its center. Continue Reading »
Parallels Desktop for Mac, the virtualization software that allows users to run a variety of OSes virtually alongside Mac OS X has been updated again to build 2.2.1970.0, released on Nov. 1st. Some handy features have been added to this update.
First of all, a new installation assistant is included which will complete the entire installation process for you – you don’t have to select any configurations, answer any questions, or make decisions about partitions or other options if you don’t want to. Continue Reading »
Hey, I realize that switcher stories are getting so common these days, we’re all at risk of fatigue from the influx of new Mac fans and fanatics among us. Forgive me then for adding a few words more in the rising tide of Mac market share. When I quite literally blew up my home-built PC a few weeks back—with a dramatic flameout of the PSU and a roomful of acrid smoke–I was driven to make my “second-tier” switcher commitment. I am now officially a “switched-again” Mac user.
I got my 2Ghz MacBook as my first Mac in May, but in truth I’ve primarily used this machine as a desktop, KVM’d next to my home-built XP machine. Real multi-taskers use separate machines. Despite (or perhaps because of) over a decade of masochistic personal Windows malaise, I was struggling to get myself even to attempt Microsoft OS on my Mac. I’d upgraded to a 100gb 7200rpm drive, but I couldn’t convince myself that Parallels or Boot Camp would beat the sheer convenience of hitting the scroll lock key and moving over the to other box. My original plan was not to deepen my Mac ties until Leopard came out, then think about a MacBook Pro or Mac Pro, and let Windows run in its own isolated tier. Continue Reading »
Sling Media has announced the release of a public beta version of SlingPlayer for Mac OS X. SlingPlayer works with the Slingbox and allows you to watch and control your TV from just about anywhere in the world.
The beta release of SlingPlayer will run on Mac OS X 10.4 and is a Universal Binary application. There is no Mac OS X 10.3 support for SlingPlayer at this time. Sling Media will be providing a 10.3 version of SlingPlayer as soon as possible.
Seidai Software has released FairGame to allow you to strip Apple’s FairPlay DRM from your iTunes music. Apparently the software “trickery” is accomplished by enabling “Access for Assistive Devices” in the Universal Access system preferences and then turning on “Place Clip in Movie Timeline” in the iMovie HD “Import” preferences. Once set up you can select the tracks in iTunes and “process” the tracks to remove the DRM. According to the companies web site FairGame scripts the iMovie interface to process the songs and you must not interfere with the processing. It takes about 2 mins and 42 seconds to process a 4 minute song on a 2.16GHz MacBook Pro. Now I am sure this is completely illegal in more ways than I can count, but if it works… Sweeeeet.
One of the utilities that I wonder how I ever got along without is called Jumpcut by Steve Cook.
My day job is working for an internet company so I live in my browser for hours and hours everyday. I am constantly copying or cutting and then pasting a piece of information from one place to another or more likely more than one piece of information. For example, before Jumpcut if I had 3 pieces of information to copy from someplace into a form I would have to do this one piece of information at a time, often switching windows or applications in between. Jumpcut lets me paste in any of the last 25 things that I cut or copied into the clipboard. Instead of doing a paste with command-V, I use control-option-V to pop up a transparent overlay that shows the current clipboard. If I hit the arrow keys while continuing to hold down the control and option keys then I can scroll through any of the last 25 clipboards. When I am done, I have pasted the information and also changed the current contents of the clipboard.
I had a busy two days at Mac Expo, leaving behind the crowds with a real good feeling that this years show was a great success. More so than previous years, because I had met so many NEW mac users. From people who had attended the show to find out more, through to those who left the show clutching their new Mac gear.
One gentleman who I approached was leaving with a big smile on his face. When asked, he said, “I came here to find out about the new iMac. I had my eye on the 20 inch model”. He obviously had his questions more than answered, he continued… Now I just have to convince the wife that this 24 inch model really is only 20 inches.” So another new user, but surprisingly buying in at the top of the iMac range. Whilst taking a break for lunch, the general conversation seemed to be around the MacBook and the iPod Nano. To the extreme one nice young lady was discussing how to match the different colored Nano’s with her outfits. This made me smile, knowing that Apple had hit the nail on the head.
So all in all a great show and it can only grow in size from year-to-year. I predict that this will be reflected in other shows around the world. It cannot be ignored that the Mac’s popularity is growing at quite a rapid rate. The iPod and the very cost effective MacBook may well lead new users in, but the quality of product and friendly community will be sure to keep them hooked.
Until next year… enjoy your newfound knowledge and of course your new Apple purchases.
In true Mac style, Griffin Technology get my ‘Best of Show’ vote at the London Mac Expo 2006. Not only because my contact there is just so pleasant, but because the company produces the most stunning products available for the iPod today.
For example, take the iKaraoke. This innovative product turns your iPod into a mini Karaoke machine. The styling is good, the user interface well implemented and it is just one of those ‘must have’ products.
Griffin were all smiles on day two of the Expo, because apart from my vote, they also won the ‘Mac User iPod Accessory Manufacturer of the Year’ award ! The quality of all Griffin products is superb, delivered with such enthusiasm that it shines through, from the naming to the design.
Many thanks Griffin, keep up the good work, you are top of my list and iPod users from all corners of the world !
Konica Minolta had a nicely presented stand, showing a selection of their printer range. From the desktop ‘magicolor 2530DL’ through to their A3+ ‘magicolor 7450’. There were plenty of representatives from the company to ask questions. Their approach was really friendly, which was attracting visitors to the stand.
The 2500 series are the desktop babies of the family. This does not mean that they skimp on features, far from it. With 5ppm in color and 20ppm in monochrome (black & white), you can print on paper up to 200gsm in weight. This is very good by desktop standards. Print quality looked top notch, with the 600dpi engine giving nice detail to the printouts.
Elgato were showing their eyetv for DTT and eyetv hybrid units to the Mac public. Visitors were paying a LOT of attention to Elgato’s offerings, with stand employees reporting massive interest.
The eyetv hybrid unit is a small USB stick device, which has both digital and analogue tuner. The software looks great, with some bug improvements of late. Scheduling for recording to your Mac is really easy. The years free subscription to tvtv (an online program guide) means that you can schedule recordings from anywhere you have internet access. I was impressed with the picture quality that I saw. Continue Reading »
I had a busy two days at Mac Expo, leaving behind the crowds with a real good feeling that this years show was a great success. More so than previous years, because I had met so many NEW mac users. From people who had attended the show to find out more, through to those who left the show clutching their new Mac gear.
In true Mac style, Griffin Technology get my ‘Best of Show’ vote at the London Mac Expo 2006. Not only because my contact there is just so pleasant, but because the company produces the most stunning products available for the iPod today.
Konica Minolta had a nicely presented stand, showing a selection of their printer range. From the desktop ‘magicolor 2530DL’ through to their A3+ ‘magicolor 7450’. There were plenty of representatives from the company to ask questions. Their approach was really friendly, which was attracting visitors to the stand.
Elgato were showing their eyetv for DTT and eyetv hybrid units to the Mac public. Visitors were paying a LOT of attention to Elgato’s offerings, with stand employees reporting massive interest.
